The New York Knicks were able to beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-79 on Friday night to take a 2-1 series lead. This matchup continued to be an offensively challenged matchup as advertised going into the series.
Here’s why the Knicks were able to take down the Cavs:
How the Knicks beat the Cavs in Game 3: Jalen Brunson
Jalen Brunson had another great game in the series where he was the only reliable Knicks option. He led the Knicks in scoring with 21 on 55 percent shooting. A lot of what he was able to do in this game was drives to the hoop getting past defenders with his dribble move and straight power.
Brunson at times has struggled in the previous games in the series. In this one, he was able to have a very solid game throughout.
How the Knicks beat the Cavs in Game 3: R.J Barrett
R.J. Barrett had his best game of the series as he was able to score 19 points. During the first two games of the series, he struggled a lot, especially with his shooting. In this game, he drove to the basket in a very different fashion than he had for the rest of the series. Barrett was able to get 10 points early in the first half and was able to prove the haters wrong who had doubted early in the series.
He finished off the second half with 9 points in a performance where he was able to act as an option that could unlock the Knicks’ offense beyond Randle’s post-ups and Brunson drives.
How the Knicks beat the Cavs in Game 3: Ability to somehow find offense in a series without it
The Cavs were only able to score 77 points for the entire game. While the shooting went up to 48 percent for the entire game in garbage time, the Cavs struggled to score in this one. While the shooting was mostly bad for the Cavs in this one, the Knicks’ defense was very solid in this one.
In the last two games, the offense for both teams has been really sloppy but the Knicks were at least able to score and put up points while the Cavs were not in game three.
Going forward, the Knicks will need to rely on R.J. Barrett to unlock the key to this offense if they want to win game 4. Randle will attack physically in the post and Brunson will get hit with doubles. Cleveland may struggle from the floor in game 4 but still, the Knicks’ offense will need to be unlocked. If the Knicks want to win Game 4, their offense will need to be unlocked by R.J Barrett.